Jewel Cave will hold ribbon cutting

Published: Thursday, September 19th, 2013

pretive messages by exploring and discovering the new exhibits at Jewel Cave National Monument. What appears to be a hairy woodpecker on a fire scarred tree is actually a handle to learn about what lives inside a snag.

New visitor center exhibits are cause for celebration at Jewel Cave National Monument. With the successful completion of a two-year interpretive project, park staff are hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. A fee free cave tour will be offered after the event.

Featured speakers include deputy regional director Patty Trap of the National Park Service midwest region, South Dakota secretary of tourism Jim Hagen and early cave explorer Jan Conn. Additional speakers include Jewel Cave superintendent Larry Johnson, executive director Steve Baldwin of the Black Hills Parks and Forests Assoc., and executive director Dave Ressler of the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce.

Over 2,500 square feet of exhibit space within the visitor center was remodeled this summer, engaging visitors with interpretive displays, artistic wall murals and life-size dioramas. Visitors interact in multiple ways within the exhibitry, such as crawling through a cave passage, using listening wands to hear caving stories and exploring the cave map through a touch screen monitor. The new displays and interpretive panels cover a wide-range of park stories, yet the thematic focus resounds of exploration and discovery.

New visitor center exhibits are cause for celebration at Jewel Cave National Monument. With the successful completion of a two-year interpretive project, park staff are hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. A fee free cave tour will be offered after the event.

Featured speakers include deputy regional director Patty Trap of the National Park Service midwest region, South Dakota secretary of tourism Jim Hagen and early cave explorer Jan Conn. Additional speakers include Jewel Cave superintendent Larry Johnson, executive director Steve Baldwin of the Black Hills Parks and Forests Assoc., and executive director Dave Ressler of the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce.

Over 2,500 square feet of exhibit space within the visitor center was remodeled this summer, engaging visitors with interpretive displays, artistic wall murals and life-size dioramas. Visitors interact in multiple ways within the exhibitry, such as crawling through a cave passage, using listening wands to hear caving stories and exploring the cave map through a touch screen monitor. The new displays and interpretive panels cover a wide-range of park stories, yet the thematic focus resounds of exploration and discovery.

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